Epic Walk Part 2

Alright, so it occurs to me that I'm not particularly happy with the way the first installment of this tale turned out. So changing the style somewhat, returning it to first person. Names remain changed for the protection of the indeterminately-sinful. ;-)

So here we are, six guys and a blonde haired girl - Tiger, Coyote, Lone Wolf, Ferret, Gopher, Toad, and Dove - gone for a walk at midnight down Turnpike Road out of E-Town. Now, that particular combination becomes important later when the cops get involved, but we weren't thinking like that at the time, of course.


So we'd decided to head out Turnpike Road instead of going past the Masonic Village (Old Folks Home) and turning 'round. Gopher and Toad are mildly iffy about this since they only really came along cause nothing else was going on... the whole "epic walk till morning" thing they're not sure about. Ferret, as is his wont, is all about going wherever, whenever for exploration's sake (hence his climbing Mt. LeConte with me), and Tiger the same. Wolf and Dove are mostly just hanging out and the adventure appeals to them too.

Anyway, so Tiger's disappeared, run off into the woods. At some point, he rejoined us, coming up fairly quietly from behind. Somebody - not sure if it was Dove, Gopher, or Toad - near jumped out of their skin when he showed up next to them and just jumped into the conversation. Especially as we were discussing how this could turn into a horror movie and deciding what order we'd all die in. We decided Ferret would be first, since he was the funniest of us. Dove would be last, being as she's the only girl and you always have to have a girl survive. Couldn't decide whether Wolf would hang on till next-to-last, preserving the couple longer, or earlier in some sort of foolishly-noble self-sacrifice. Either one would work.

It was sometime around this point when somebody piped up that we'd seen an awful lot of red candles in windows (by an awful lot, I mean maybe 3 - we're out of town now and into the Lancaster County non-Amish sticks), which clearly meant we'd somehow stumbled into the Lancaster Co. red-light district... we kept an eye out for awhile for any plain-dress girls with their socks rolled down.

One of the more disconcerting (not the most, no) moments happened when somebody - Toad or Gopher, maybe? - looked over on the side of somebody's house and yelled "Holy S&^T!" Well, we were all wondering what he'd seen, and when he pointed it out we were all a little shaken too - even after we figured out what it really was. Turns out somebody's yard light, illuminating some decoration or other, also had the unfortunate effect of catching a little knotted pull-string in its beam. Which was magnified full sized onto the side of the house looking like a big old noose. Yeesh.

A little further on, we notice some deer statues in somebody's yard. Well, most of us know they're statues. Tiger and Dove aren't so sure and wonder if maybe they're real deer just standing *really* still. Yes, it was kinda rediculous even if it was very dark. Though in their defense, the two of them are from way downtown Philly... I'm not sure they knew what deer looked like outside of the Franklin Institute or textbooks. Oh wait... I was supposed to be defending them. ;-)

Tiger really wants to run up to the deer statues just to make absolutely sure, but we convince him it's a bad idea... we don't wanna be on the wrong end of a shotgun, after all. Instead, I go along with his suggestion that we take a side road up into a woodsy area for awhile, see what it's like or if there's anything interesting up there. The others more or less refuse... it's pretty dark and creepy looking, and Ferret would rather press on because he wants pictures of Three Mile Island, which he's convinced we'll be able to see at some point. So Tiger and I go up the side road by ourselves, we'll catch up with the others in a bit.

Well, it was definitely dark and creepy, and not just a little bit foggy as well. It went on for a while, as roads tend to do, and we followed it to the top of the first rise. There was a Caterpillar of some sort sitting just off the road at some sort of worksite, but that wasn't what caught our attention. Well, I'm not sure what caught our attention, but one of us saw something move in the trees out the corner of our eye, and the other heard something rustle. Already a bit spooked, and not wanting to tarry too long and get real behind the others, we turn around and head back, jogging at a brisk (for me, not him) pace.

Now, as I'm sure has become clear, Tiger's a real mischievous, prankster kinda guy. So we're heading back down Turnpike Road and he says to me, "Ted, what if one of us showed back up without the other and convinced them - Dove would be easiest and funniest - that we thought the other had already caught up? Make them think the other one of us had disappeared somewhere." Well, I thought it would be a fun idea, so we conferred for a bit. Decided I'm not nearly as good at keeping a straight face in something like this, and though they might suspect Tiger more than they would me of pulling the prank, he'd be better at it. So I sat down on the side of the road - not far at this point from the stables where I'd taken a half a class in riding - and waited for about 20 minutes before I started walking again.

Dove called me twice (I think, or was it thrice?), trying to figure out what had happened to me. The first two times I answered... "Where are you, Ted?" (or something to that effect) she asked, in a fairly-concerned voice. I responded with a kind of unintelligible groaning and some heavy breathing before hanging up. After the first two times, I just refused the call.

To Be Continued...
Next Time: Peeing on a church, random creepy yokel, Three Mile Island, and the Pepsi Machine Mirage.

Coyote Goes to Meet the Sun

Coyote and Tiger were playing chess one night when they decided to go on an Epic Walk. Well, I say Coyote decided, but it was mostly Tiger and Coyote was up for it. They decided to leave at the witching hour and walk in one direction until they met Sun. So then they went to round other people up from the dorm. Ferret was willing, but he always likes long wanderings at any hour, so that wasn't surprising. Gopher and Toad both said they'd come along, but Rabbit said he was feeling tired and wanted to sleep. "Call me when you need picked up, you won't make it as far as Sun" he told them. All the rest in the dorm weren't interested and most thought Coyote and Tiger were crazy.

Tiger wanted Lone Wolf to come along too, but knew he would be a hard sell. So Coyote suggested convincing Dove first - she liked random stuff like that, and if they could get her on board, she had a good shot of convincing Wolf. After all, she's not your typical Dove, too playful and mischievous for that, just like Lone Wolf is too anti-social to fit with any one pack long-term. Funny how couples work that way. So they went down to the Nest of the Great Jay, where Dove and Wolf were working until the witching hour anyway. Ferret, Gopher, and Toad wandered off to snag some snacks while Coyote and Tiger talked to Dove. "Come with us," they said, "we're going to walk until we meet Sun. We'll fun, and Wolf doesn't hang out with us enough anyway. We'll leave after you get off work."

Well, it took a little, but not too much, cajoling by Dove, but Lone Wolf agreed to come along with the crew. He hates Gopher and Toad, though he tolerates Toad for use as a target of abuse. The rest he liked, and Dove quite a bit of course. So the crew came back right before close and hung around while Wolf closed the store up and Dove helped him finish up. They needed to go back and change, which Ferret and Tiger grumbled about, but understood. So with all that taken care of, the seven friends set off.

Dove and Ferret started singing Les Miserables as they walked down the streets of the Virgin Queen City, and Coyote joined in. Then they all switched to The Lumberjack Song, which Tiger and Gopher led while the others chimed in. Well, I say led, but it was more tried to remember as best they could. Lone Wolf didn't sing, but was definitely amused by all this, and Toad followed along as best he could.

They hadn't picked a direction for sure yet, but had decided to walk out of Town on High Street. As they walked by Peace Alley, Wolf and Tiger staged a fight while Ferret took a picture. Then Dove climbed on some statue. This sort of thing would, of course, continue all night. The seven walked on, past the train station, and came to a fork. Decision time. To the left, a fairly well-lit street leading up to (and eventually past) the Old Folks home. To the right, a darker fork, heading out through some light woods into the Red Rose countryside, eventually perhaps to the River. A council. Toad and Gopher were fairly unconcerned about which fork - Gopher was getting cold, but with some needling convinced himself to stay. Ferret, Tiger, and Coyote were all about the right fork, but Dove quailed - theatrically, being a Theatre bird as she was. Wolf was convinced to go right, and Dove went along - insisting that none of the guys sneak off into the woods to jump out, as Tiger had been suggesting.

So right they went, Tiger leading the way. Then he ran off into the darkness, leaving the others behind.

Superpowers!

Right then, so it's been a little bit since I posted anything, eh? Bet you lot were thinking Coyote had gone to ground, nothing worth talking about anymore, and you'd finally be rid of him, didn't you?

Sorry, it won't be that easy. :-P

So, one of the things I've been talking about with people semi-lately is the idea of superpowers, and what would yours be if you could choose them? Unlike my previous post, which tested you, this is a time for you to be creative yourself. Think about it... if you could have any two superpowers (that is to say, the ability to do something not normally able to be done by humans), what would they be? It can be something out of comics, something you saw on Heroes, or just something you've always wished you could do.

Why superpowers? Well, other than for just goofing off/shooting the breeze, picking a superhuman ability probably says something about your personality. Say you want to be able to be invisible... clearly you want to be able to hide. Is this because you're afraid of conflict and would rather just turn invisible than face it? I'm not much of a psychologist, or at least not at this hour, but I think you get the idea.

Oh yeah, and that picture to your right? Green Lantern + Optimus Prime is simply... fantastic.

Anyway. So my two superpowers would be flight/flying, which I think is a pretty standard wish-fulfillment power and a desire for freedom, and phasing through solid material, a la Kitty Pryde (X-Men) or D.L. Hawkins (Heroes). This is one I think of a lot working at the Roadhouse... how convenient it would be to just phase through people, or objects, but especially people, when I need to get from one place to another, especially on an extremely busy Saturday night. Of course, I've also been told there's more to it than that... the ability to walk through walls without destroying them would be a very useful metaphor for pastoral care, so long as its not abused and you don't walk into the person's (mental, spiritual) home uninvited and/or cause havoc once you get there.

Ok, that's all for now. Fairly short, to the point. It's really not all about me.

Daemon-ology (no, not Demonology)

So, I love typologies and trying to figure out how they work, what they mean, etc. Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, various online personality tests, it's all great stuff in my opinion. Maybe it's because I like the idea of being able to point at something and say "ahh, see, that's what I'm *really* like," which of course prevents me from having to do the actual hard work myself. Now whether that's because of laziness or because I fear having to defend myself and would like some sort of "authority" to fall back on, that's perhaps a more difficult question.

Of course, that's a rather negative take on why typologies and the like fascinate me. Hmm...

Another thing I really like, and which is mostly related, is the idea of an outwardly visible representation of the self in animal form. Historically (that is to say, in the history of my white English Christian cultural context), one of the more familiar examples of this was the, well, familiar. Ok, so maybe the familiar isn't the best example I'd like to hold up.

In more modern literature/pop culture, J.K. Rowling and Phillip Pullman probably have the best example of what I'm talking about in their respective Patronus Charms and Daemons. The Patronus is probably the single thing I most wish was real from Harry Potter, a protector you can summon, made of hope and willpower, that takes a form specific to you and your personality. It may or may not be reflective of you specifically (the forms of Harry Potter and Professor Snape's patroni, as example, are not reflective of themselves so much as another extremely important person/protection in their life). I would love to be able to cast the Patronus; if nothing else, the curiosity of how it would appear fascinates me.

And whatever problems I may have with Phillip Pullman's worldview and some of his stances, I adore the concept of the daemons, a physical reflection of a person's own soul. And so, while surfin on the Interwebs last night, Coyote stumbled across this "discover your daemon" test at the Golden Compass Movie website. Fantastic! So, I took the test, and the site determined that my daemon is a fox named Trina. Here, looksee



So, intrepid reader, shall you also take this fun little online test and let the moviefolks tell you what your daemon would be if that world were real? Now of course, I know that as with all online personality type-tests, this one no doubt has problems, weaknesses, and it has a rather limited selection of animals that can be your daemon. For example, of the 30 possible choices, 20 are mammalian (a very common human bias), and none are reptiles (snake, croc, turtle?) or amphibians (frog, toad, salamander?). I am surprised, and rather impressed, that any arthropods were included at all. Still, despite these weaknesses, I did like the quiz. Maybe I'll include some others in the future.

Ta for now!

PLAYOFFS!!!

Guess what time it is... that's right, NFL Playoffs time!!! And the Titans are finally back in for the first time since 2003, woo-hoo!

Ok, backing up. Coyote *loves* football, especially NFL Football, and most especially the Tennessee Titans. It makes sense of course, being his home-state team and also probably the most epic/literary (no, not the same thing of course) of the NFL teams - and also playing on Nashville's status as the "Athens of the South." Anyway, seeing the Titans return to the playoffs again since being evicted by the accursed Patriots (boo... hiss....) makes Coyote very happy. We'll see how long that lasts.

Oh yes, one more sidenote. The kitty this time is clearly not related to the topic of conversation here, but it makes me happy in a very nerdy way. A cookie for those who know the reference.

So, playoffs. Titans have a very rough row to hoe if we intend to reach the Superbowl, and we have a good shot at losing this first game. I mean it's playoffs, so that's to be expected, but drawing the Chargers first was not what I would have preferred. We played the Chargers just a few weeks ago, and aside from giving up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, it was also an extremely physical, you might even say brutal, football game. Both these teams love to play physical, smashmouth football, and it showed a few weeks ago. Raw talent, the Chargers may well have the advantage on offense (ok, almost certainly on offense) - especially since Vince Young's not gonna be 100%. I pray that if he's even 80% Vince gets the start, for everybody's morale and also to get Vince extremely valuable playoff experience. Kerry Collins, despite all the complaining I do when he comes on the field, is a very solid, reliable backup, and if need be put him in if Vince isn't getting it done or aggravates the quad, but start Vince please.

Now defense, I'd say Titans have the edge. Everybody knows about the Titans D-Line, with Vanden Bosch and Haynesworth ruining Phillip Rivers (Chargers QB) day last time, but lets talk linebackers, specifically Keith Bulluck (Titans) vs. Shawne Merriman (Chargers). I've never liked Merriman, not at all, and was not surprised last year when he got suspended for juicing. Ever since then, from what I hear, he's not been the same player, but he still talks the trash. Oh, and he whines. Seriously, saying Jeff Fisher ordered a "hit" on him the last time Titans/Chargers played? Shut the he$% up you whiny baby - you got blocked hard, fair and square, and to make out Fisher as some sort of mafioso is even worse - aside from being the longest-tenured coach in the league, find me a guy that's more classy and respectable in the head coaching position.

Oh, one more thing - Special Teams, specifically kicking. Rob Bironas set (or was it just tied) an NFL record for most field goals in one game. That may be an indictment of the Tennessee offense in one respect, but it's so very nice to have such a reliable kicker, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the game come down to that.

Other thoughts on this week's playoff games.

- Too bad for the Redskins that their season had to end yesterday, but they made it a lot further than I expected them too - playing their hearts out for a murdered teammate only got them so far, but good job to build for the future. Good on the Seahawks, not getting flustered when they began to self-destruct and pulling back together. And oh yeah, a shoutout for the only Seahawks rushing TD and first of the game by Fullback Leonard Weaver, a Carson-Newman College grad! (Why yes, that is my parents' alma mater and my hometown college). Now can the 'Hawks get it done at Lambeau Field? "We want the ball, and we're going to score" indeed!

- Wow, crazy game up in Pittsburgh! It looked like the Jags were gonna run away with things, then the Stillers (err... Steelers) had a huge comeback to take the lead. Couldn't quite close the deal and great job by Jaguars QB David Garrard there at the end, but man what a finish! Sorry to all you Bethany Steeler-fans, but I was rooting Jags. :-)

- Other game tonight, Giants-Bucs, go Gints! Eli Manning doesn't get the respect he deserves, and has had way too much pressure on him since Day 1 - comes with being Peyton's little brother, but it's still not fair. Remember, Big Brother didn't win a playoff until the fourth try - this is number 3 for Little Brother. Winner gets to (hopefully) go to Bid D and knock the Hated Cowboys out of the playoffs.

Enjoy the postseason, and here's hoping for aTitan Superbowl!

Merry Christmas!!

No LolCat this time, sorry readers. It's Christmas Eve and I'm finally in the Christmas mood. You know what that means... Christmas music! I do love Christmas music, and I'd like to share a few of my favorites. Via YouTube, of course, because what would the blogosphere be without YouTube? Hopefully the links work...

But anyway, yes, I do love Christmas music, the beauty and the hope that they share. And I'm not especially picky about the styles... I'll take your classic belting it out a la Charlotte Church (or a Church choir, heh) and I'll also take some more rocking or unusual stuff - I adore the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, as an example. I also prefer the religious songs, except of course for the goofy ones. I mean, I hear enough about Santa and Rudolph as it is, but here so close to Christmas I'd rather focus on the miracle of God Incarnate, of Immanuel.

Boyz 2 Men O Come O Come Immanuel
- It's funny, I'd never really even heard this song until last Christmas season when it was sung at the Elizabethtown Christmas Service. I'd heard of it, but not actually heard it. This is my favorite version on YouTube because of the haunting nature of it; a powerful voice laying it out would also be great.

Celtic Woman Little Drummer Boy
- A classic of course, and though it may be odd at first glance for women to be singing this song. these women are so incredible; and besides. does it really matter what gender sings it? Just be glad I didn't find Joan Jett's version online - I like that too.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra O Holy Night
- TSO is usually a lot more rocking than this, of course, but this version of O Holy Night was absolutely incredible I thought - the power behind it. I'm used to women singing this one, but that's probly due to church. If done right, this song gives me absolute chills, and I think should always be included in any Christmas event (religious, of course). And I don't know why this text is underlined and can't fix it.

Charlotte Church What Child Is This?
- I maintain that Charlotte Church had (has) one of the very best voices for Christmas songs. Feel free to disagree. This particular song may well be one of my very favorites of all. Go Greensleeves!

Jewel O Little Town of Bethlehem
- Another beautiful singer, and a great song when pondering the circumstances into which Christ was born.

Third Day Do You Hear What I Hear?
- One of my brother's favorite Christmas songs, and I like it too. No scoffing at the "Christian rock" please... I like it and think it works really well for this song. And for those who were looking for the modern Christian rock, these guys are pretty big in that world... like, probably Top 5.

Enya Silent Night (Irish)
- Everybody's heard the English, and many no doubt have heard the German. So why not go for the Irish Gaelic version for a change? Now, I don't know if the lyrics flashed on the video are true or not, but the song itself is beautiful, which is what really matters.

Gayla Peevey I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
- Ok, so I said I like serious Christmas songs. Well, this novelty song from 1953 just makes me smile. It's silly, goofy, and ridiculous. Kinda like Coyote at times. Enjoy... or cringe, your call.

Lou Monte Dominic the Donkey
- In a similar vein to the Hippo Song, this classic makes me warm and fuzzy. Goofy, silly, but so Christmasy!

The Royal Guardsmen Snoopy's Christmas
- Goofy and fun, absolutely. I mean, it's about Snoopy and the Red Baron! But it also, deeper down, is a very poignant song about the true meaning of Christmas and how we should treat our "enemies." The Christmas Truce in goofy song format? I'm there!

So, there you go readers, a small selection both religious and goofy. What say you, any favorites that I've left out? I'm sure there are.

A Follow-Up tale, and Something Fun too!

Right, so, it seems to me only fitting that I should post something in follow-up to the meeting that we had, what, a week and a day ago now? My, how time does fly... poor Coyote is feeling pretty beat right now, like an old dog. Therefore, instead of doing what he should be doing (say, finals/papers) he's gonna blog. Logical, no?

We convened, more or less, at Seven of the Clock post meridiem (that would be nineteen hundred hours for you 24-hour folks) in the Quigg worship room, the Gathering Area having not enough seating or the preferred atmosphere for what we were intending. Which, of course, was somewhat nebulous, at least in the outset. Basically, if I understand what happened correctly, we came together to talk about and share our feelings regarding the perceived breaking of trust in the community, and what we hoped to do as a community in order to re-establish said trust so that we could move forward as functional; what we were not intending was a discussion of Robert's situation, or of Marie Vandenbark's history class. Both were obviously very important elements and would have a bearing on what was said understood, but those specific issues were not intended to be the topic of main discussion/sharing. After some brief introduction and a slight bringing up to speed of what had been happening, we entered into a period of worship, with Micki... well, clerking might be one way of putting it, but pastoring would, methinks, be a more apt descriptor of her function, for which I am deeply appreciative. Question was raised regarding the nature of trust and what that would look like, but things didn't really seem to be going anywhere. Then a Friend asked, hoping not out of line, if we could back up a bit. She was, Friend said, not acquainted with everyone in the room and thought it would be beneficial for all (herself included, natch) if we introduced ourselves and, much more importantly, spoke briefly on our connection to all this and why we had come to the community meeting/what each hoped to accomplish. And we did, not going around the room necessarily, but each speaking when moved and in turn.

Turns out, this suggestion was positively *brilliant* and no doubt Spirit-led. It was during this time that it was revealed to me how hurtful the Gossip Blog had been from the outset due to prior connotations of gossip; however well-intentioned, such a Blog could not have helped do some damage. I must concede, with some remorse and shame, that not all share the sense of humor of myself or James Nayler. Who, by the way, outed himself to the community and publicly apologized for his unintended exacerbation of QuakerWorldNow's apparent... difficulties. I too apologized for the community as one of those who "bit" on the Blog, so to speak. Some also spoke to the deeply personal and ongoing attacks they had been subjected to by QuakerWorldNow, including Craig (though QWN did not know who he was specifically) and Erin, as I mentioned last post (and hope she doesn't mind my mentioning). This was helpful for those who were unaware of anything beyond the initial few e-mails and the Gossip Blog e-mail. Some Friends spoke to feeling unsafe and vulnerable at ESR because of the threats they felt they had received; others spoke to their bewilderment regarding how something so simple (in their eyes) could have such an effect. Some came in an attempt to rebuild trust and community; some came seeking safety and support, comfort for their wounds; some came to offer support and hopefully comfort though they might not have known everything. I went that night to support my friends; I went because I wanted a release of the frustration, anger, fear for friends that had been growing as I learned more. I went seeking absolution for the guilt of feeling angry and threatened on behalf of my friends, the guilt that it had been someone else, not me, who had been hurt and felt threatened, (I would rather be a tank [def. 1]) and as I was there I asked for absolution of the shame that grew in me as I heard Friends talking about how the Gossip Blog hurt them unawares.

Sorry, got a bit sidetracked there. Anyway, as I said this suggestion was a very good one and it was an excellent way to get out information and clear the air, in a sense. There was some brief discussion about the community and the raw pain that was in the room was brought up, but honestly I think most of the work was done in the sharing. And... I'm not sure what else to say about the meeting. It went well. I think most people came away feeling very good about it, if not disturbed about what had happened to some people, and some healing certainly took place.

Changing subjects entirely now, since I should post about something more entertaining methinks. So Coyote was on the Interwebs recently surfing about, and look what he found! Now, for those of you unfamiliar with LOLcats, well, there's a perfect example attached to this post actually. But yeah, there it is. A Kitty pidgin Bible, I kid you not. I about fell out of my chair, and not because I was leaning back too far (though that does happen often - the leaning back, not the falling out I mean). Who has the time on their hands... I know it's a wiki, but still, why? Why, I say, "translate" the Bible into something rather ridiculous. I mean, I'm a fan of Lolcats, and if you read my blog you'll no doubt see more (ohs the noes!), but the Bible?! Still, it's funny. Well, for a bit. Read a few verses, heck read a chapter, and see what you think. Hopefully you giggle or guffaw. If not, well, Coyote tries, but does not always succeed.

And, I'm done. Tis late. Goodnight dear readers!